Abstract
Erythrophores, cells capable of translocating pigment granules along a radially arrayed cytoskeletal framework, provide an excellent model system for studying intracellular particle transport. Numerous examples of intracellular motility are based on microtubules1 and all available evidence indicates that organized pigment granule transport in erythrophores depends on these structures2. The best studied microtubule-based motility system is the flagellum. As it relies on a dynein–microtubule interaction to generate motive force3, we have investigated the effects of dynein ATPase inhibitors on pigment granule transport. Vanadate is a potent inhibitor of dynein ATPase activity in vitro4–6 and has been shown to inhibit microtubule-based motility in cilia4, flagella4 and the mitotic spindle7. Recently, another dynein inhibitor, erythro-9-3-(2-hydroxynonyl)adenine (EHNA), has been described8. We report here that both microinjected vanadate and exogenously applied EHNA block saltatory movement of pigment granules in isolated squirrelfish erythrophores. The vanadate and EHNA sensitivities of directed pigment motion suggest that a dynein-like molecule may be an essential component of the erythrophore intracellular motility system.
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Beckerle, M., Porter, K. Inhibitors of dynein activity block intracellular transport in erythrophores. Nature 295, 701–703 (1982). https://doi.org/10.1038/295701a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/295701a0
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